With six weeks of school holidays and this much rain, it’s always good to have something up your sleeve…
So, as a public service announcement, here are a few ideas:
- A spot of Jewish baking: If your toddler likes to get their hands dirty, head to the Jewish Museum in Camden on Sunday August 13th, where they currently have an Amy Winehouse expo. I can’t vouch for the suitability for the little ones, so make a beeline for wherever Nicole Freeman and her Kids’ Kitchen is offering a pop up, Winehouse-themed cookery class.
Freeman has told me that she’ll be making teaching two to five year olds how to ice tattoo biscuits and make a Jewish dessert — is there a pud that’s not Jewish? The haimische treat is cheesecake. The first session is a sell-out but there are currently tickets available for the 11.45am – 12.30pm slot. Details are here.
- Feed an animal: Willow’s Activity Farm near London Colney in Hertfordshire kindly sent tickets so I could investigate their (not so new) Peter Rabbit Playground with my little-ish ones. On a rain-soaked weekday we finally visited — with the incentive that if it did stay wet all day we could shelter in the soft play barn. It was mostly dry — if cold for August — and we spent six whole hours feeding animals; playing on tractors; bouncing on inflatables; running around the Beatrix Potter-inspired adventure playground — which is beautifully done — and charging about the soft play. My children were utterly exhausted and the six-year old is already nagging for a return trip.
- Pick a flower ice cream: I’ve not managed to get to here, but Facebook is full of Amorino ice cream. The draw is that they scoop (more like plaster) the ice cream onto the cone so that it looks like the petals of a rose. Definitely enough to get me onto a train into town. Click here for more info.
- Fruit picking: The season is nearing its end now, but you might be able to catch a few berries. I took the six-year old to Hawkswick Lodge Farm near Harpenden. We picked strawberries, blackberries and raspberries before taking them home (via a strawberry waffle at The Waffle House) and took them home. I have already baked a blackberry and apple cake and strawberry cake and used a good number of strawberries in the children’s morning smoothie. Lovely to show and share with them where their food comes from.
